Álvaro Laureano Miguel Gómez Hurtado A.K.A. Álvaro Gómez Hurtado (May 8, 1919 – November 2, 1995) was a Colombian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

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and former active member of the

Colombian Conservative Party The Colombian Conservative Party () is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was formally established in 1849 by Mariano Ospina Rodríguez and José Eusebio Caro. The Conservative Party along with the Colombian Liberal Party ...

. Gómez was founder of conservative dissidence known as Movimiento de Salvación Nacional (National Salvation Movement), and their first presidente since 1990 to 1995, when he was murdered. Gómez was a son of the former

President of Colombia The president of Colombia (President of the Republic) is the head of state and head of government of Colombia. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of Colombia, national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Mil ...

Laureano Gómez Laureano Eleuterio Gómez Castro (20 February 1889 – 13 July 1965) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 18th President of Colombia from 1950 to 1953. In November 1951 poor health led him to cede presidential pow ...

, who ruled that country from 1950 to 1951, until he was forced to resigned by army forces commanded by the general

Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian National Army of Colombia, army general, civil engineer and politician who ruled as List of presidents of Colombia, 19th President of Colombia in a military dictatorship f ...

. Gómez was seen as successor of his father, and his father's political enemies became his adversaries. He is mostly remembered for being one of the writers of the

Colombian Constitution of 1991 The Political Constitution of Colombia of 1991 (), is the Constitution of the Republic of Colombia. It was promulgated in Constitutional Gazette number 114 on Sunday, July 7, 1991, and is also known as the Constitution of Human Rights. It re ...

, for running three times for the presidency, without success (in 1974, 1986 and 1990), and for his murder at the hands of the

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in ...

. He served separate appointments as ambassador to Switzerland, Italy, the United States and France, beginning in the 1940s. Gómez also was the founder of Universidad Sergio Arboleda, former director and journalist of their family journal's El Siglo and owner of Noticiero 24 Horas, one of the most important TV News in Colombia from 80s to 2000s. His hobbies encompassed painting, writing poems, and other activities non-related to politics. Gómez is considered in Colombia as the most important notionalist of conservative in that country, and his thinking continue to inspiring new generations of young politician in Colombia. Also is frequently cited by politicians of both ideologies as a reference of peace and understanding.

Early years

Álvaro Gómez Hurtado was born as the second of four children to

, a newspaper publisher who later became president of Colombia. His mother was María Hurtado Cajiao. His siblings are Cecilia, Rafael and Enrique. The family grew up in La Candelaria, a traditional neighborhood of Bogotá. The children attended private schools in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium and

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

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while their father served as a diplomat. After his family's return to Bogotá, Gómez went to the Colegio de San Bartolomé, a preparatory school, graduating in 1936. He studied law at the

Pontifical Xavierian University The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (English: Xavierian Pontifical University) is a private university in Colombia founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest and most traditional Colombian universities, directed by the Society of Jesus, with its ...

and graduated as a lawyer in 1941. His thesis was entitled ''Influencias del Estoicismo en el Derecho Romano'' ("The Influence of

Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed in nature itself. Of all the schools of ancient ...

in Roman Law").

Journalism

He began writing for the newspaper '' El Siglo'', which was owned by his father. He later founded a weekly business magazine called ''Síntesis Económica'' (Economic Synthesis) and created and produced a television news show called ''Noticiero 24 Horas'' ("24 Hours News").

Political career

Gómez Hurtado's first political office was as elected councilman for the city of Bogotá. He next ran for the

Chamber of Representatives of Colombia The Chamber of Representatives (Spanish: ''Cámara de Representantes'') is the lower house of the Congress of Colombia. It has 172 members elected to four-year terms. Electoral system According to the Colombian Constitution, the Chamber of ...

and was elected for a four-year term. After finishing his term, he was elected for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Gómez was appointed as a "plenipotentiary minister" several times. He was also appointed as Ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, Switzerland, Italy, the United States and France.

Presidential candidacies

Gómez founded the National Salvation Movement. He ran (unsuccessfully) as its candidate for president three times: in 1974 against

Alfonso López Michelsen Alfonso López Michelsen (30 June 1913 – 11 July 2007) was a Colombian politician and lawyer who served as the 24th President of Colombia from 1974 to 1978. He was nicknamed "El Pollo" (The Chicken), a popular Colombian idiom for people with ...

, in 1986 against

Virgilio Barco Virgilio Barco Vargas (17 September 1921 – 20 May 1997) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 27th President of Colombia serving from 7 August 1986 to 7 August 1990. Early life Barco was born in Cúcuta in the Nor ...

and in 1990 against

César Gaviria César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo ( ; born 31 March 1947) is a Colombian economist and politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 to 2004 and National D ...

President of the Constituent Assembly

He was elected to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

, which created the new

. He was elected as co-president of the Constituent Assembly along with Horacio Serpa and Antonio Navarro. After the Constitution had been written and ratified, Gómez left politics and focused on journalism and academia.

Kidnapping

In 1988, Gómez was kidnapped by the

M-19 M19, M.19, or M-19 most commonly refers to: * May 19th Communist Organization (M19), an American far-left female-led terrorist group active during the 1970s–1980s * 19th of April Movement (M-19), a former Colombian guerrilla movement and political ...

guerrillas, and was released after the intervention of

Álvaro Leyva Álvaro Leyva Durán (born 26 August 1942) is a Colombian lawyer, economist, politician, human rights defender and diplomat. He has been the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Colombia in the government of Gustavo Petro since 7 August 2022. On 7 ...

Assassination

Álvaro Gómez was murdered by gunmen on November 2, 1995, in Bogotá, while leaving the

Sergio Arboleda University Sergio Arboleda University () is a university located in Bogotá, Colombia, with sectionals located in Barranquilla, Santa Marta, and Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with ...

, where he was a visiting professor. FARC-EP claimed responsibility for his murder in letter to the Special Justice for Peace (JEP) tribunal in October 2020. In a clandestine book of letters from FARC founder

Manuel Marulanda Pedro Antonio Marín Marín (13 May 1930 – 26 March 2008), known by his "nom de guerre" Manuel Marulanda Vélez, was the founder and main leader of the Marxist–Leninist FARC-EP ("''Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército ...

, titled ''Documentos y Correspondencia Manuel Marulanda Vélez (1993-1998),'' there are six mentions that the guerrilla committed the assassination. However the family of Gómez Hurtado pointed out that it is a strategy to divert the attention away from the 25-year long and ongoing investigation that has been collecting evidence that might incriminate former president Ernesto Samper Pizano (1994–1998). Gómez Hurtado was denouncing the financing of the former president Ernesto Samper's campaign by drug cartels, and they believe that the evidence shows that it was a state crime. Ernesto Samper has been a supporter of peace talks with the FARC guerrilla.

Published work

*''La Revolución en América'' (Revolution in the Americas) *''La Calidad de Vida'' (The Quality of Life) *''Soy libre''. (I am Free) *''Compilación de conferencias dictadas en la Universidad Sergio Arboleda''. (Compilation of his lectures at Sergio Arboleda University)

Marriage and family

Álvaro Gómez was married to Margarita Escobar López and had three children: Mauricio, Mercedes and Álvaro José.

Notes

References

El Diario del Otun newspaper; Alvaro Gomez Hurtado

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez Hurtado, Alvaro 1919 births 1995 deaths People from Bogotá Children of presidents of Colombia Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia Members of the Senate of Colombia Presidential Designates of Colombia Ambassadors of Colombia to Switzerland Ambassadors of Colombia to Italy Ambassadors of Colombia to France Ambassadors of Colombia to the United States Colombian male journalists Colombian academics Colombian Conservative Party politicians Burials at Central Cemetery of Bogotá Members of the Constituent Assembly of Colombia 20th-century Colombian journalists Gómez family